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President Lula at the opening meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa on February 17

Photo: Ricardo Stuckert / AFP

“Brazil is back,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva never tired of proclaiming when he took office as president. He fueled hopes of a brilliant international comeback for his country. The largest state in Latin America has all the prerequisites to act as a mediator in international crises. It is a peaceful giant; a mass democracy headed by a former union leader and Democrat who had earned a reputation as a conciliator in his first two terms in office. Lula cultivated his image as a man with a heart for the poor and diplomatic tact. He got along just as well with George W. Bush as he did with Fidel Castro – an apparently ideal mediator between the worlds. An excellent diplomatic corps, which is considered exemplary for its professionalism not only in Latin America, could be at his side.

After four years under would-be coup leader Jair Bolsonaro, who had made Brazil an outsider, the world longed for someone like Lula. He ruled very successfully from 2003 to 2010. You thought you knew him, what could go wrong? “This is my man,” said then US President Barack Obama about his Brazilian counterpart: “This is my man.”

But a year into his third term, illusions that Lula could mediate in the world's major crises have evaporated. The Brazilian wanders around the international stage as if he had lost his moral and political compass. He courts autocrats and alienates democrats. Before every trip abroad, his diplomats tremble to see what kind of diplomatic faux pas he will make next.

There are taboos that it's better not to touch

Like recently in Addis Ababa, where Lula was a guest at an African summit: Shortly before his departure, he compared the actions of the Israelis in Gaza to the Holocaust in front of journalists. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly announced that he had crossed a "red line."

Lula's remark cannot be dismissed as a gaffe. Anyone who wants to act as an international mediator in all sorts of crises must know that there are taboos that it is better not to touch. Lula provided Netanyahu with a template to distract from the unrelenting harshness of the Israelis in Gaza. His foreign minister summoned the Brazilian ambassador to the Holocaust Museum like a schoolboy and lectured him in Hebrew - knowing full well that the diplomat didn't understand a word.

Lula's outrage at this public humiliation is understandable. But she can't hide the fact that it's his own fault. Hamas also immediately exploited Lula's Holocaust comparison.

Lula is not an anti-Semite. He was often in Israel and boasted of a good relationship with President Isaac Herzog. Many left-wing intellectuals in Brazil are Jews, and Lula had a trusting relationship with them. Until last Sunday, his criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza was sharp but not exaggerated. His outrage at the suffering of children and women in Gaza is genuine. Lula was heard, including by Israel's friends, where criticism of the Israeli government's actions is growing.

However, with his Holocaust comparison he has now made himself unbelievable. The systematic genocide of six million Jews is unique in history and is not suitable for comparison.

Lula is blind in one eye

Lula's remark might be forgivable if it were a blip in an otherwise impeccable record as a democrat and peace diplomat. But it is the latest in a series of disturbing political signals that do not fit with the image of democrat and humanitarian that Lula himself is so fond of cultivating.

In an interview, he blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for the attack on Ukraine. During his state visit to China, he courted the communist regime as if Beijing were closer to him than Washington. The Brazilian government initially ignored the death of Russian regime opponent Alexei Navalny last week until reporters harassed Lula in Addis Ababa on Sunday. His answer: “So this citizen died in prison. I don't know if he was sick or had some kind of problem." He said he had to wait for the authorities to investigate before he commented on it.

In Latin America, where his voice carries a lot of weight, Lula shied away from criticizing the left-wing dictatorships in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro recently ensured that the main opposition candidate was excluded from the upcoming presidential elections; last week he had the most famous human rights activist arrested and expelled the UN Human Rights Commission from the country - but not a word of protest came from Brasília.

In the minds of many old leftists, the wall never fell

In the worldview of the old Latin American left like Lula, the wall never fell. Their heroes are Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, Daniel Ortega. The fact that they have ruined their countries and have critics persecuted or murdered is overlooked. The “concept of democracy” is “relative,” Lula answered a few months ago when a journalist asked why so many leftists defend Maduro.

Lula has achieved great things in Brazil. His life story is a roller coaster ride. At the end of his second term in 2010, he was considered the most popular president of all time. He was later convicted of corruption and ended up in prison until the cases against him were overturned due to partiality of the judge and procedural errors. He was re-elected president and survived an attempted coup. Today, just over a year after taking office, he has stabilized his country economically and politically.

It is all the more tragic how he is now tearing down his life's work with foolish sayings. Lula would show greatness if he apologized - not only to the Israeli people, but also to the Jewish community of Brazil. But that is not to be expected. He is a populist in his own way; he relies on the fact that many people in Brazil and around the world secretly agree with him. But igniting anti-Semitic sentiments is worse than populism; it is demagoguery.

No, democracy is not relative, and the Holocaust certainly isn't.